How Not to Live

Chapter 1

I awoke with a scream, my whole body covered in sweat. This was the second nightmare tonight. I checked the clock hoping it would be time for me to get up soon. The bright display read 2am, only one hour after the last time I woke up. I could already tell it was going to be a long night. I just lied there contemplating life for a while until I finally drifted back to sleep...

I jolted awake when my alarm went off. Five thirty like every other morning. It took all the willpower I had to get myself out of bed. The contrast form my warm bed to the frigid air sent a shiver all the way though my body. As quickly as I could, I got myself dressed so I wouldn't be so cold. I scowled at myself as I approached the mirror. As I brushed my long chocolate brown hair, I questioned if it was even worth it to go to school today.

I grabbed my bag and walked downstairs as quietly as possible. I was almost to the door when I heard my mom clear her throat behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked rather loudly.

"I'm going to school. Just like I do every freaking day."

"You don't have to be there for another hour so get your butt into the kitchen and have some breakfast." She said as she punched me in the side.

I stomped to the kitchen and poured a bowl of cereal. I pretended to eat but as soon as she stopped watching I dumped it back into the box. I was lucky to leave unnoticed most days, but sometimes I just wasn't stealthy enough. It's not that I didn't want  to eat, but I just couldn't.

As soon as I walked out the door, the icy air made me tighten up. I reached my bus stop just in time to catch my bus. Stepping onto the bus, I was greeted with disappointment  when I noticed the heater was not on. I walked all the way to the single seat in the back. Since my stop was one of the first, I always got that seat. I'm not fond of people so I prefer to sit alone.

I was pretty much a popsicle by the time we reached the school. I started walking towards the school when all of a sudden I slipped on a patch of ice, causing my butt to become well acquainted with the ground. The others that were there just walked around me as they laughed and made fun of me. School hasn't even started yet and I've already managed to humiliate myself.

"Skylar are you alright?" A voice behind me asked. I turned around to see my best friend with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm fine Ash." I said as she helped me back to my feet. "Winter is my favorite but it's terrible when I'm such a klutz."

 We walked to our first class to meet our friend Jay. Once we arrived in class I noticed he was not there yet. Just as the bell had finished ringing he stumbled into the room and rushed to his seat next to me.

"Skylar, Ashleigh, guess what!" He whispered to us with excitement while our teacher took attendance.

"What??" We asked in sync.

"I finally got my drums fixed!"

 "That's great! Now we can have practice again." I said with a giant smile. Jay always puts things off so his drums had already been broken for a month and a half.

"Indeed we can. So practice at my house after school sound good?"

"Sounds good to me!" Ashleigh said beaming with excitement. "I'll drive Skylar so we can go get our instruments and we'll meet you there."

"Alright class settle down." Our teacher, Mrs. Kemper, announced.

We turned toward the front of the room to act like we were paying attention. English was definitely the worst class to have so early in the morning. So  glad we have practice later. I like to avoid the bus and my house as much as possible.

The rest of school was rather insignificant. As usual, I was assigned homework in almost every class. All the excitement for after school made time just seem to go that much slower. Right when the bell rang I was out of my class and speeding down the hall.

I made my way to the parking lot to meet Ashleigh. We got into her light green SUV and headed toward my house. When we got there I was relieve when I noticed my mother was not there. I ran upstairs to my room and got my bass and my amp. As we pulled out of my house, my mom was just arriving. Thank God I missed her. Ashleigh drove to her house and got her guitar before heading to Jay's.